Leeds Numeric introduction

Common issues when using Leeds Numeric

Contents

When you're referencing with Leeds Numeric you may come across issues with missing details, multiple authors, edited books, references to another author's work or online items, to name a few. Here are some tips on how to deal with some common issues when using Leeds Numeric.

Online items

You should reference the actual version of the item that you have read. This is especially important for items which are published both online and in print format as page numbers and other information may be different. The exception to this rule are journal articles, which should not be referenced as online items.

These three pieces of information should be included whenever you reference something you read online (except journal articles):

Ensure that you are using the URL of the actual source document, and not the URL of the search result in Search@Library or another search engine. URLs from our Library search have the words "summon.serialssolutions" in them.

If you are using a reference manager such as EndNote or Mendeley, it is important to check the URL on items you have imported from databases or search engines, and amend it to the URL of the source document (rather than the database or search engine) where necessary.

Multiple authors

You should include all author names in the reference. Where a source has a very long list of authors, eg in the case of some scientific articles, you might wish to consult your tutor on whether to use "et al." in place of some author names.

Two authors

If the source has two authors, you should include both authors in the reference.

Follow the format: Family name, INITIAL(S). and Family name, INITIAL(S). Title. Edition (if not first edition). Place of publication: Publisher, Year.

Citing in the text

If you refer to two or more sources at the same time, these can be cited together. The numbers of the sources are placed inside one pair of brackets, separated by commas.

For example:
With road transport set to grow by 33% over the next 20 years (2, 3), it is important for governments, businesses and individuals to act now to reduce the impact that transport is having on the global environment (7, 12, 35).

If you refer to three or more different sources at the same time and they have consecutive citation numbers, eg 3, 4 and 5, a dash can be used to abbreviate this.

Example:
With road transport set to grow by 33% over the next 20 years (3-5)...

The dash indicates that number 4 is also being cited.

Editor(s)

If you are referencing a book with an editor rather than an author, this should be indicated in the reference.

Follow the format: Family name, INITIAL(S) (of editor). ed. Title. Edition (only if not first edition). Place of publication: Publisher, year.

Multiple publisher details

If multiple publishers are listed, you should include only the first publisher listed, (or the British one if it is a choice between a UK and an overseas publisher) in your reference list or bibliography.

Multiple places of publication

If multiple places of publication are listed, you should use the first place name given when writing your reference list.

If there is a town and county/state on the title page, you should just give the town. However, if there is more than one well-known town of that name, you might want to give the state as well to make it clear.

For example:
Stern, D.N. The first relationship: infant and mother. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 2002.

Editions and reprints

You should reference the year your edition was first published. Don't include any subsequent reprint dates, unless the publisher has changed, in which case you should reference the first date of publication of the new publisher's edition.

No page numbers

Page numbers are normally only included in your reference list or bibliography for a few types of reference, eg journal articles, newspapers, chapters in edited books. If the source has no page numbers, use [no pagination].

For example:
Pajunen, K. Institutions and inflows of foreign direct investment: a fuzzy-set analysis. Journal of International Business Studies. 2008, 39(4), [no pagination].

If you are citing a source that has no page numbers, use (no pagination) in the in-text citation.

For example:
"It was emphasised that citations in a text should be consistent" (1, no pagination).

No publisher or place of publication

If you are unable to identify the publisher, or the place of publication, use [no publisher] or [no place], as appropriate.

The work of one author referred to by another

If the author refers to another author’s work, you should always try to track down the original work. If this is not possible, and you intend to cite the ideas of one author that you have found in the work of another, your text must refer to the original author of the ideas that you are using, and to the source in which you actually found the ideas.

For example, if you were quoting Brown, as cited in a work by Matthews your citation would be "Matthews (1, p.17) cites Brown, who emphasises that citations in a text must be consistent."

Your reference list should only give details of the source in which you actually found the ideas, in this case the work by Matthews.

If the reader wants to find the full reference details of the original work by Brown, they should be available in the list of references in Matthews' work.